The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 13

‘If only I could land just one punch on this bastard.’
Leoryna suppressed the urge to strike Khalid across the back of his head as she spoke.
“But Professor, I keep saying this, but no matter how I think about it, this doesn’t seem right.”
“There’s no one living in this area anyway. What’s it to me?”
‘This demon bastard.’
As Leoryna sighed heavily, Khalid and Zigzagel—having abandoned any further attempts at persuasion—were already approaching the Demon Stone.
When Zigzagel raised his hand, an orb of tremendous brightness materialized in his palm. Without a moment’s hesitation, he hurled it at the Camp.
Boom!
The mass of magical energy collided with the magic nullification field, erupting in a deafening explosion and blinding flash.
Leoryna’s eyes widened as she witnessed the spectacle.
The Camp erupted into chaos for a moment, but it was only fleeting. When Khalid snapped his fingers, the people collapsed like wooden puppets with severed strings, sprawling across the ground.
Zigzagel extended his palm toward Khalid, who clapped it sharply.
“Professors! You said you’d keep it hidden!”
Only Leoryna let out a roar of fury.
“As long as it stays hidden, what does it matter? We’ve handled everything. They won’t have seen who we are.”
Zigzagel protested in an aggrieved voice.
“That doesn’t mean you can handle it this loudly!”
“Oh.”
Leoryna felt the urge to strike the back of Zigzagel’s head as well. Now she understood why this dragon was friends with Khalid.
Regardless, Khalid was already rushing excitedly toward where the Demon Stone lay buried.
“Hehehehe! The Demon Stone! Mine!”
Khalid swept away the cloth covering the Demon Stone. Beneath it, a reddish stone protruded jaggedly. Though still unpolished and crude in appearance, the portions catching moonlight gleamed with an ethereal radiance.
Khalid licked his lips with his tongue.
“Zigzagel, Zigzagel.”
Understanding perfectly what his whining meant, Zigzagel exhaled deeply and transformed back into his dragon form. He began digging vigorously around the Demon Stone with his massive front claws.
Soft earth was scraped away and rock crumbled beneath his sharp talons. It wasn’t long before the Demon Stone revealed its entire form.
‘Ha, I’ve become a full accomplice now. Let fate take its course.’
Once Leoryna resigned herself completely to the situation, she could finally appreciate the majesty of the Demon Stone.
Upon measurement, the gently curved Demon Stone reached approximately fifteen meters in total height. Its overall shape resembled a snowman made from two round snowballs, or perhaps a daruma doll.
Leoryna had never seen a Demon Stone this massive in all her years. This would be a treasure of immense value even to the Mage Society.
‘Forget it. Since we’ve already done it, if problems arise, I’ll deal with them then. For now, let’s enjoy this.’
Leoryna resolved that if any trouble emerged, she would pin all blame squarely on Khalid.
The three mages, consumed by greed, soon extracted the Demon Stone completely from the earth.
“Hehehehe, ours! Ours!”
As Zigzagel lifted the Demon Stone, Khalid bounced excitedly on his shoulders. But then it happened.
Rumble…! Rumble!
A thunderous sound echoed from somewhere. The three of them startled and looked around frantically. But they saw nothing—instead, the mysterious roar of some beast reached their ears.
“Grooooooooo!”
“What in the world is that sound?”
Zigzagel lowered his voice as he assumed a defensive stance. Yet the beast’s cry did not cease.
“Grooooooooo!”
The increasingly distinct roar seemed to draw ever closer.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With each dull impact, the earth trembled. Leoryna hesitated for a moment before her foot slipped into the Hole created by the uprooted mana stone.
“Ahhhhh!”
Leoryna nearly plummeted into the depths, but Khalid swiftly seized her hand and pulled her to safety.
“Th-thank you, Professor!”
As Khalid hauled Leoryna upward while she dangled from his grip, I noticed something within the Hole.
“Huh…? What is that?”
A polished marble surface protruded sharply, and upon it were inscribed what appeared to be characters.
Leoryna examined it closely.
“Why aren’t you coming up?”
Khalid urged from above, but Leoryna furrowed her brow and pointed with her finger at what she had discovered.
“Professor, look at that.”
Upon seeing what Leoryna indicated, Khalid too tilted his head in confusion. Then came another thunderous crash, and the earth shook violently. Both Leoryna and Khalid hung suspended in mid-air for a moment before plummeting together into the Hole below.
Khalid swiftly cast a levitation spell, cradling Leoryna against his side as they hovered in the air. He then drifted toward the marble surface Leoryna had discovered.
Upon closer inspection, it was a gravestone. Leoryna attempted to read the inscriptions upon it, but could not decipher them.
“Professor, this looks like ancient language.”
“This land’s… something or other, warned… something or other…”
Khalid skipped over the damaged portions where the text had faded and read only the legible sections aloud.
“Zigzagel. Can you excavate this as well?”
“What? This isn’t the priority right now—something is…”
“Just dig this out first. Something feels off about it.”
“Grooooo!”
The mysterious beast’s cry erupted once more, but Zigzagel reluctantly set aside his vigilance and excavated what Khalid had indicated with his hands.
Before long, Khalid could examine the gravestone he had pulled from the earth in detail. It was not particularly large.
Khalid deciphered the ancient language carved upon the gravestone and read it aloud.
“I warn all creatures of this land: do not lay your hands upon this mana stone. By the mana stone’s power, a colossal Kochalirakes has been sealed. Should the mana stone be disturbed and Kochalirakes awaken, responsibility cannot be… borne…”
Khalid’s face drained of all color as he slowly turned his head to regard Leoryna and Zigzagel. Leoryna fixed him with a cold stare.
“Take responsibility.”
“Ugh!”
Khalid made an adorable whimpering sound, but Leoryna ignored him and turned to Zigzagel with a question.
“What is Kochalirakes?”
“An ancient demonic beast. Its power was so immense that some called it a demon. I had heard it went extinct in ancient times, but it seems one still remained.”
“So you’re saying that thing has been released from its seal now? And that roar we heard—that was from it?”
“Most likely, yes.”
Rumble!
The earth trembled again, and this time the ground began to crack open. The sound of boulders shattering was far more terrifying than I had anticipated.
“KUOOOOOO!”
From beneath the earth, accompanied by a roar incomparably louder than before, a massive arm covered in feathers and tipped with blade-like talons burst forth. As though bound by an unspoken pact, Khalid and Leoryna screamed in unison and scrambled onto Zigzagel’s back.
“Fly! Fly! Fly!”
As Khalid slapped Zigzagel’s back repeatedly, the colossal dragon flapped its wings and surged skyward.
“KUOOOO! KUOO!”
Kochalirakes unleashed a cry so deafening it seemed to shatter eardrums as its massive form emerged completely.
It resembled something caught between a bird and a dragon. Its reptilian face was completely covered in feathers. Three pairs of legs possessed grotesque proportions, and a long tail terminated in what appeared to be a sharp, venomous spine. The coloration alone confirmed its toxic nature.
Moreover, Kochalirakes was even larger than Zigzagel!
“KUOOOOOO!”
Kochalirakes surveyed its surroundings before opening its maw wide.
Sparks crackled within its gullet before transforming into a torrent of flame that erupted outward.
Vegetation consumed by the inferno vanished without trace, reduced to ash in an instant. It was as though the creature were venting its fury at having been sealed away all this time.
“Eek….”
Leoryna gazed downward in horror, and something caught her eye.
“Professor! Look! The people will be caught in the flames!”
The fire was about to engulf the Camp’s inhabitants, who still slumbered under Khalid’s magic.
“We have to save them!”
At Leoryna’s words, Zigzagel immediately veered toward where the people lay. Despite drawing closer to the Camp, Zigzagel’s descent showed no sign of slowing.
“Ahhhhh! Professor Zigzagel, we’re going to hit the ground! We’re going to crash!”
Leoryna cried out in panic, and Khalid, understanding what his companion intended, wrapped his arms around her like securing cargo.
“We’re jumping off here!”
Khalid leaped from Zigzagel’s back and descended gently to the earth using levitation magic.
Meanwhile, Zigzagel used its falling momentum and forward propulsion to ram its body directly into Kochalirakes. The two massive creatures tumbled across the ground with a dull, thunderous collision.
Zigzagel recovered consciousness first, shaking its head menacingly while unleashing a primal roar. Kochalirakes, regaining awareness moments later, responded to the provocation with a warning cry of its own.
“KUOOOO!”
Kochalirakes unleashed another torrent of flame.
“Not on my watch!”
Khalid positioned himself before the sleeping people and erected a magical barrier, which intercepted the flames before they could reach anyone.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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